A Wall Street firm is moving its corporate headquarters from New York City to Nashville. A boat manufacturer is investing $9 million to build a new plant in Lake County, creating nearly 200 jobs.
A South Korean automotive and appliance supplier is planting a flag in Weakley County. A longtime Selmer employer kicked off two new lines of production.
All told, it was a busy and consequential week for Tennessee. Gov. Bill Haslam and TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced nearly 1,500 new jobs and more than $90 million in private capital investment across the Volunteer State.
Here’s a roundup of this week’s major economic development news.
Lake County’s Big Day
Tucked in Tennessee’s northwest corner between Reelfoot Lake and the Mississippi River, Lake County has not had a new, significant industrial project in many years.
On Monday, Gov. Haslam stopped in Lake County. Hundreds of residents gathered in the gym at Lara Kendall Elementary School in Ridgely to celebrate the county’s largest economic development project in recent memory.
Excel Boat Company, LLC announced it would invest $9 million to build a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Ridgely. A manufacturer of a full-line of premier recreational boats, Excel Boats plans to create nearly 200 jobs over the next five years.
CEO Glenn Foreman said the plant has the capacity to eventually employ 300 people. Foreman considers the new plant a way to “make a huge difference in a community that truly wants us.” By the time Excel Boats hits its promised job count, it will be the largest private employer in Lake County.
Lake County, one of Tennessee’s smallest communities, is among the 15 distressed counties in the state, based on unemployment, poverty rates and household income. For all of those reasons, the new Excel Boats plant will be a major shot in arm for Lake County.
“One of our priorities has been to attract jobs and private capital investment in rural Tennessee,” Gov. Haslam said. “Excel Boats’ new plant and the creation of nearly 200 jobs will be transformational for Lake County.”
